Sea Bass with Stamnagathi & Oliváki
Λαβράκι με σταμναγκάθι A Taste of Greece Crisp sea bass, Cretan wild greens and light tomato jam, finished with fresh herbs and Oliváki.
Small by Design
Small Olive is first and foremost a great group of human beings based in Greece, the US and the UK. We are parents. We love food. We strive to be healthy and we would like to make a positive difference. Most of all we all really like olive oil, and we object to the way the Big Olive oil industry has been heading and how it treats farmers and its customers. So we decided to do something about that.
We strongly believe exceptional olive oil should take the most direct path from farm to table. So we work very closely with Greek families producing outstanding oils on small farms, bringing organically farmed extra virgin olive oil from the hands that produce it to the tables of those who value it. That way the true valuestays where it should: with the farmers and the customers.
An Experience. A Crazy Plan. Here's The Story.
"I have always had a need to explore and share what I find with others. It makes me happy. And that thought underpins the story of our company. It started with my love of olive oil, a glass of good wine, and a conversation with a friend who happened to know someone who made amazing organic oil. I asked if I could get some, and sometime later several 10-litre metal tins with no branding turned up on my doorstep. I loved it!
For the next few years, as I tortured friends and family with my wonderful discovery, I became more and more curious about the guy who made it, so one November I jumped in the car and drove to Patras. What I found thrilled and irritated me.
A wonderful family, a beautiful place, generations of knowledge, and most of all, wonderful olive oil… that no one knew about or no one could buy simply because farmers rarely have backgrounds in international business. That day an idea was born. It was to become Small Olive Company."
Two Worlds. One Missing Connection.
For thousands of years, generations of Greek farming families have produced remarkable olive oil. Yet today, most of it is exported into complex supply chains where the people, the harvest and the place behind it quickly disappear as it is blended and rebranded. Livelihoods, freshness and taste are sacrificed on the altar of corporate profit and convenience.
Meanwhile, people searching for authentic extra virgin olive oil are often faced with shelves of bottles that reveal very little about who made it, where it comes from, or even when. The concept of a wonderful and exciting seasonal harvest, rich in taste, colour and freshness, is lost in all but the most expensive boutique groceries.
Small Olive is the bridge between the grove and your kitchen. Our farmers know how to make great olive oil and Small Olive provides the expertise to introduce that oil to the world. Together we are helping to make sure that customers get a new and wonderful experience while investing back into the people who work the land, to ensure the tradition of small-farm olive oil continues into the future and thrives.
More Than Just Olive Oil.
Farming olive oil is fantastically complicated. Each crop is the sum of the soil, the land, the trees, the weather, whatever other crops are growing nearby and even the birds and insects. But more than anything, it is about people. Generations of experience and knowledge passed down from father to son or daughter, generation after generation. That is really what makes it so special. Very few small olive farms make much money (if any at all). It is a labour of love, courage and persistence that should be celebrated and supported before it disappears as so many old-world skills have. In our own small way, we are working to keep those skills alive and to create a fairer, more optimistic future for small scale olive production, while giving customers the opportunity to experience olive oil as it should be: fresh, traceable and full of character.
Our Favorite Recipes
Garlic Confit Chicken with Oliváki
ΚΟΤΟΠΟΥΛΟ ΚΟΝΦΙ ΜΕ ΣΚΟΡΔΟ A Taste of Greece Slow-cooked in Oliváki Extra Virgin Olive Oil with whole garlic cloves, rosemary and thyme, this chicken becomes exceptionally tender and deeply aromatic....
Sea Bass Ceviche with Pear, Grapefruit & Oliváki
A Fresh Taste of the Mediterranean This vibrant ceviche brings together the delicate flavor of fresh sea bass with the natural sweetness of pear, the bright acidity of citrus and...
Traditional Greek Salad
Χωριάτικη Σαλάτα A Taste of Greece The Greek salad is one of the country's most iconic dishes. Traditionally known as Χωριάτικη, meaning Village Salad, it's made with ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumber,...
It All Begins Here.
Every bottle begins in one extraordinary place, in the hills of the western Peloponnese, with the Xenophon family. Their knowledge, values and passion form the foundation of everything we do, and their story deserves to be told in full.